There will be more Australian dollars heading to New Zealand after Brendon and Jo Lindsays wonderful Savabeel mare Probabeel proved a class above in Saturday’s Group III Bill Ritchie Stakes (1400m) at Randwick.
Ridden by Kerrin McEvoy for trainer Jamie Richards, the Group I ATC Surround Stakes heroine defeated the front-running Cuba (All Too Hard) by one and a quarter lengths with Brandenburg (Burgundy) finishing hard to be a further length back in third.
The 4yo daughter of Savabeel firmed into favouritism for the Group 1 $1 million Epsom Handicap (1600m) on October 3 where Kerrin
“It’s nice to have her back winning,” McEvoy said
“I’ve ridden her a bit, more so this time in and had five seconds on her so it's nice to get it done before the big one being the Epsom.
“Today looked ideal for her, second up and out a little bit in trip.
“She’s a lovely mare to ride and she’ll go out to the mile now and prove very hard to beat in the Epsom.
“She’s got a nice weight on her back in the Epsom, which is obviously very competitive, but she goes there with a great chance. She still has a nice improvement to come out of this race today.
“They have done a great job with her.”
Purchased by David Ellis for $380,000 out of the Waikato Stud draft at the 2018 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale, Probabeel advances her record to 7 wins and 6 seconds from 17 starts with earnings of $1,783,978.
Probabeel is the first and only foal of the stakes-placed Pins mare Far Fetched who died at the age of seven in 2017.
She was a three-quarter sister to Group II MRC Thousand Guineas Prelude and Group III Manfred Stakes winner Legless Veuve and the Group III MRC Mannerism Stakes winner and Group 1 WRC Telegraph Hcp runner-up Tootsie.
